Sanding tips for new wood

New wood preparation for staining

One of my project the other day was a wood framed window in a garage. It was put in a few years ago and left unattended while the rest of the house was being finished one room at a time. It is built out of knotted alder and framed with the same wood.
The finish on it is going to be stain and polyurethane.
So, as I look at it, I can tell this little project is going to take a few hours of prep, for sure!

The wood is already weathered and has turn yellowish, you can see water marks throughout and some nicks.
Always mask the edges where the glass meets the wood, remove all the hardware that you can, and mask the ones you can't remove. I start by folding my sandpaper, 120 grit & 220 grit,
My first goal is to brake the harder yellowed surface layer and get as much of the watermarks out with the 120 grit. I will sand the larger boards first, to do that I wrap my paper around a wood block to make sure the surface I am sanding will stay nice, even and flat.

Most important: Always sand with the grain, never accross it...as you stain, little lines that go against the grain  will show!!!

As you get going, you'll notice that you start breaking into a little sweat after 30 mins or so...and guess what?...you still have a long way to go!
Slowly the dust is going to pile up, it means you're making progress, but if you get to the point where you can't see what you're doing anymore, get that ShopVac and suck it up!...I like to use a brush attachement to avoid scratches.

Let's say you are working on the window sill, as you get to the corners, take a smaller piece of sandpaper, fold it twice, insert a putty knife in the middle of it, it will give you a nice sharp and flat edge, more leverage, to work into the heart of the corner.
All along as you are sanding, apply a medium pressure and use control!
When the board that you are working on looks nice: the yellow layer is gone, the water marks have disappeared, the little nicks are fading away...You are ready to go over that area with the 220 grit paper and do a finish sand...make sure you make that last touch nice and even!...If somehow you forget to hit a spot with the 22o grit it will show up when you stain, that area will appear darker.

So, you are now on your way to smaller edges, trims, and borders....maybe you already took a couple of breaks!!!...Make your paper work for you!...For those areas, fold it, which will make it stiffer and easier to use on details.

Now you've been at it for 2-3 hrs, if you feel like your arms are going to fall off, you"re doing a good job!!...and they won't fall off you are building endurance!!!
Chances are you are experiencing a cardio workout as well!...but there's still more to sand, so here are some tips:
  - Sand with the beat of whatever is playing on the radio, or on your Ipod
  - Sand UP with one hand, DOWN with the other, also works RIGHT and LEFT...keep alternating!
  - Zone out
If you start wondering why you are putting yourself through that??? try to visualize how good this will look when you'll be done!...All your effort will pay off!!!
And if that doesn't do it, get a helper and tell him (or her) that you are just too busy to get to that part!
Might be a good idea to get someone you're going to pay, don't ask your best friend!

Again, for any question on that subject I'm Chantal Hodges with ACCENT PAINTING AND FINISHES.